Sony stops making PlayStation 2 in Japan

Japanese electronics giant Sony says it has stopped producing its PlayStation 2 consoles in Japan, fuelling online rumours a PlayStation 4 is in the pipeline.

Since launching in 2000 the PlayStation 2 (PS2), which has a Blu-ray player, has sold more than 150 million units worldwide, making it the best selling console of all time and was so popular it outsold the its replacement for the first three years.

The announcement sparked rumours that embattled Sony, which has been hit by falling sales owing to the popularity of games on smartphones, is planning a PlayStation 4, more than six years since launching the PS3.